India NewsRSS Feed - International

Terror Funding Case: NIA Summons Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Naseem Geelani for Enquiry In New Delhi

The NIA’s notice to the Mirwaiz reads: “It appears you are acquainted with the circumstances of a case under investigation by the NIA. You are required to report before the NIA on March 11 at 10.30 a.m. for the purpose of your examination.”

New Delhi, March 11, 2019 —

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has summoned the Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Naseem Geelani, younger son of hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, for questioning in a 2017 terror financing case, a senior official said. Mirwaiz is the first top-ranking separatist to be summoned by the NIA.

Both Mirwaiz and Naseem Geelani have been asked to appear at the NIA headquarters in New Delhi on Monday.

NIA Notice To Mirwaiz

The NIA’s notice to Mirwaiz reads: “It appears you are acquainted with the circumstances of a case under investigation by the NIA. You are required to report before the NIA on March 11 at 10.30 a.m. for the purpose of your examination.”

Talking to The Hindu, Mirwaiz confirmed the issuance of the notice but refused to comment on the development. A Hurriyat spokesman described the NIA notice as “an attempt to arm twist the leadership of Kashmir into submission.”

“Mirwaiz was not questioned after the case was registered in 2017. That is why summons have been issued to him now,” said the official. Recently, the Jammu & Kashmir administration had withdrawn security provided to him. Naseem Geelani has been summoned earlier also.

Search Was Carried Out At Premises Of Separatists

The NIA had on February 26 carried out searches at the premises of separatist leaders, including Mirwaiz, in connection with the case related to the financing of terrorist and separatist groups in J&K.

The NIA team, accompanied by the police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, searched the residences of some of the separatist leaders, including Mirwaiz, Naeem Geelani, and Ashraf Sehrai, chairman of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.

The houses of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Yaseen Malik, Shabir Shah, Zaffar Bhat and Masarat Alam were also raided.

Case Registered For Funding And Aiding Funding For Terrorism

Barring  Mirwaiz and Sehrai, all other leaders were jailed for some time. The NIA had questioned two maternal uncles of Mirwaiz — Maulvi Manzoor and Maulvi Shafat — and his close aides last year. Both Manzoor and Shafat are retired senior government officers.

The NIA had registered a case on May 30, 2017, against the separatist and secessionist leaders, including members of the Hurriyat Conference, who have been acting in connivance with active militants of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and other outfits.

The case was registered for raising, receiving and collecting funds through various illegal means, including hawala, for funding separatist and terrorist activities in J&K, and for causing disruption in the Kashmir valley by pelting security forces with stones, burning schools, damaging public property and waging war against India.

Shutdown Today

The NIA notice comes just 11 days after an NIA raid at Mirwaiz’s residence in Srinagar in which the agency said “incriminating documents” had been recovered. A trade body has called for a shutdown on Monday in protest of the NIA issuing summons to Mirwaiz.

Earlier, last week, JKLF chief Yasin Malik was booked under Public Safety Act (PSA) and shifted to a jail in Jammu.

Show More

News Desk

Stay tuned to read latest updates and news from all around the world.
Advertisment
Back to top button